Ronnie O’Sullivan fightback stuns Kyren Wilson to seal semi-final spot in Saudi Arabia

Ronnie O’Sullivan produced an inspired comeback to stun Kyren Wilson 6-5 and book his place in the Saudi Arabia Snooker Masters semi-finals.

For the second day running, the Rocket recovered from the brink of defeat to prevail in a deciding frame at the Green Halls in Jeddah.

O’Sullivan appeared set for a seventh successive defeat against Wilson, who led 5-3 in their blockbuster quarter-final showdown.

However, just like from 5-2 down against Chang Bingyu, the seven-time World champion hit back to prevail and set up a semi-final clash with Chris Wakelin.

O’Sullivan lost the opening frame, but responded with breaks of 88 and 116 for a 2-1 lead.

Wilson hit back with 75 before overturning a 43-0 deficit for 3-2. The Warrior then replied to 51 from the Rocket with 69 and 80 to move to the brink of victory at 5-3 up.

With his back to the wall, O’Sullivan produced back-to-back centuries of 110 and 118 to force a decider.

After the Warrior missed a pink to the left centre, the seven-time World champion took control with a run of 43, before a stunning long red paved the way for him to cross the line.

Next up for O’Sullivan will be Wakelin, who also prevailed in a deciding frame against Barry Hawkins, as the Hawk became the latest player to fall foul of the notorious ‘Ding Junhui curse’.

In 22 successive tournaments stretching back to the 2024 Welsh Open, the player beating Ding Junhui has gone on to lose his next match.

The Hawk’s chances of ending that streak looked bleak when he trailed 4-1 against Wakelin, who made breaks of 61, 65, 79 and 86 along the way.

Although he fought back to 5-5, Hawkins could not prevent his fellow former Shoot Out champion from sealing victory with a run of 55.

Earlier in the day, Neil Robertson progressed to the semi-finals with a 6-4 win over Ali Carter.

The Thunder, who hit a top break of 139, was pegged back from 2-0 and 4-2 up, but eventually advanced to set up a semi-final showdown with Elliot Slessor.

The former Welsh Open semi-finalist surrendered a 5-2 lead against Mark Williams, but held his nerve to prevail in a deciding frame for the fourth successive round.

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Saudi Arabia Masters 2025 Quarter-Final Results

Thursday August 14

Ali Carter 4-6 Neil Robertson
Elliot Slessor 6-5 Mark Williams
Kyren Wilson 6-5 Ronnie O’Sullivan
Barry Hawkins 5-6 Chris Wakelin